


Life is the Flower (Love is the Honey)

by monobuu



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Flower Shop, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Dorks in Love, Florist Tony Stark, Fluff, Getting Together, Language of Flowers, M/M, Mortician Bucky Barnes, Oblivious Tony, charming bucky, short and sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-24
Updated: 2019-08-24
Packaged: 2020-09-25 02:20:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,076
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20369038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/monobuu/pseuds/monobuu
Summary: Every Friday, Tony sets up his flower shop on the corner so he can see his favorite person on their way home from work. Today, however, is special.Tony Stark Bingo 2019 - R1 : Flower Shop AU





	Life is the Flower (Love is the Honey)

Tony was just retying his apron when he caught a glimpse of the current headliner in all of his daydreams walking on the other side of the street from his pop up shop. Fridays were always his favorite, when he loaded up the best and brightest blooms he had to offer and left Darcy in charge of the shop so he could go down to the corner of Milano and Third and catch people on their way home from work, just before the weekend hit.

He had other spots during the week that he’d go, spaces that he’d found through trial and error where he made the best sales. There was a handful of yoga and Zumba classes over by the museum on Tuesdays and he sold plenty of succulents and everyday blooms to the women attending them. On Wednesdays he’d set up closer to the farmers market, where young mothers and office workers from the nearby building always liked to see something colorful to get them through the rest of the week.

Fridays had him setting up closer to the hospital, where he got to watch his favorite person walk by each day in the morning as he was setting up, and again on the man’s way home. James Barnes (_ call me Bucky _), the youngest mortician in residence at the hospital, almost always wore black from head to foot, wrapped in a leather jacket on cooler days, boots laced up and tucked beneath black pants. His brown hair was just this side of too long, always in a pristine knot in the morning, but falling out in wisps and flyaways by the time he made his journey home.

Tony could never decide which he liked best, the well put together, professional version he saw in the morning, coffee in hand as he stopped to say hello to Tony or, on some occasions, shouted a hello as he ran, obviously late for work. Or the tired, disheveled version Tony saw in the afternoon, hair a mess and oftentimes with glasses perched on his nose, eyes a little droopy from a busy day, but the smile he gave Tony always warm in ways that Tony had trouble describing.

Bucky had never actually bought any flowers from Tony, but every once in a while, when Bucky looked like he was having a bad day, Tony would give him some to take home, a handful of nearly neon-colored daisies that were Darcy’s favorite, a single rose if Tony was feeling confident, or even just a small bunch of hydrangeas when they were in season. Bucky always seemed to appreciate the thought and Tony would like to think that they’d worked up to a rather nice rapport since they’d met a few months back.

Today was just like any other Friday, and Bucky crossed the street already smiling, his cheeks rosy red from the chill in the wind as he approached. His hair was a mess, but he’d chosen not to wear his glasses today.

“Hey Tony,” Bucky said, slowing to a halt in front of Tony’s stand.

“Bucky,” Tony said, a little bit more breathlessly than he’d really meant to. He’d missed Bucky this morning, too busy putting out a bridezilla-themed fire at the storefront with Darcy and his intern MJ to make it to his corner in time. If he’d missed Bucky on his way home, his entire weekend would’ve been ruined.

“I missed you this morning,” Bucky commented. “Late start today?”

Tony chuckled, embarrassingly delighted that Bucky had actually noticed his absence. “Yeah, a client tried to yell at MJ yesterday about a floral arrangement that isn’t even happening until next April and MJ really isn’t the type of person to take that type of treatment sitting down.”

Bucky laughed. “Your intern, right?”

“Yeah,” Tony said, reaching over to adjust a pale filled with peonies to give his hands something to do. “She ended up in an argument with the woman and we almost lost her business but I managed to talk her around again.”

“Bridezilla, huh?”

“You could say that,” Tony agreed. “Ready for the weekend?”

Bucky’ smile dimmed, then he shifted his feet abruptly and looked to the side. Tony followed his gaze, but there was nothing of particular interest other than the banana peel someone had left this morning. When Bucky met his eyes again, Tony smiled encouragingly.

“Yeah,” Bucky said slowly. “Actually I was wondering if you could help me out a bit?”

Tony’s heart did a little flutter without his approval. “Yeah, sure, anything.”

Had that sounded desperate? Too excited? Overjoyed? Tony needed to reign it in.

“I’d actually like to buy some flowers from you,” Bucky said then, smile nervous. “But I don’t know anything about flowers.”

Tony’s heart stuttered.

“Sure,” he said. “Who are they for?”

“Someone special,” Bucky said, and his cheeks bloomed with a bit more color as he let out a shaky exhale.

That stuttering shook to a complete halt and Tony looked down in the hopes that Bucky wouldn’t see the disappointment in his eyes. He cleared his throat, pasted on his best smile and looked back up to find Bucky waiting hopefully.

“Alright, no problem,” Tony said. “First question, does your special someone know anything about flowers?”

“Uh,” Bucky said, then chuckled. “Yeah, I guess they probably do.”

“Okay,” Tony said easily. “Just means we’ll have to look at color _ and _ meaning. Don’t want to give your lady a bouquet that says ‘Sorry for your loss,’ right?”

“It’s a fella, actually,” Bucky said with an attempt at a laugh. 

Tony swallowed with effort. Handsome. Gay. And taken. Just his luck. Ah, well. C’est la vie, right?

“Alright, Bucky, so tell me about your fella. What do you want to say with your flowers?”

Bucky scratched the back of his neck in a clearly nervous gesture. His blush had not budged an inch and if Tony weren’t about to make a bouquet of flowers for Bucky’ boyfriend, he’d probably think it was cute.

Who was he kidding? He still thought it was cute.

“Well, I don’t really know,” Bucky told him. “That’s why I came to you.”

Tony nodded. “How do you feel when you see him?” Tony asked. Sometimes that could get people started on the right path.

“Happy,” Bucky said immediately. “Even if I’ve had a really bad day, just seeing him makes me smile.”

“Okay, so let’s start with some yellow versilia roses,” Tony mumbled, going to the right bucket and plucking out a few blooms. 

“And you like him, I assume,” Tony asked, glancing back at Bucky. “This isn’t just a friend, is it?”

“No,” Bucky said, eyes intense. “A bit more than a friend, I think. I hope, anyway.”

Tony gave him a smile, trying not to get lost in the deep blue of eyes. The man needed to tone down the looks or Tony was going to swoon right on the spot. 

“Great,” Tony said, clearing his throat lightly. “Let’s add some kahala roses to compliment the yellow, some carnations for _ love _,” Tony said slyly. “Tell me about him.”

“He’s…” Bucky trailed off. “He’s awful pretty. Charming, smart, a little sassy?”

“Sassy?” Tony echoed with a laugh. “Sounds like my kind of guy. Okay, ranunculus for the charming bits, scabiosa for his intellect, snapdragons because you’re clearly infatuated, and~” Tony said slowly, looking for each flower as he mentioned them and adding them to the ever-growing bouquet in his arms. Where had he put the last of the- Ah. There they were.

He tugged some mini calla lilies out of their bucket and placed them delicately within the large bundle of blooms, making sure they were turned just the right amount to make their color pop. He reached for his pile of pre-cut twine and began wrapping the stems gently, intricately, making patterns with the string as he went.

“What were those last ones?” Bucky asked.

Tony glanced up, a little bit of blush marking his own cheeks. The lilies had a variety of meanings, but Tony had grabbed them thinking of the Romans and how they used them to infer sexuality. Probably shouldn’t tell Bucky that, though. Weird enough he was making a bouquet for the boyfriend of the guy he had a crush on, Tony didn’t want to scare him away entirely by saying, _ these are for sex, good luck! _

“Mini calla lilies,” Tony told Bucky, tying the twine to secure it before grabbing a large square of paper. “They represent passion.”

“Passion,” Bucky echoed.

“They certainly won’t hurt your chances,” Tony said with a laugh as he taped the paper around the bouquet. “What do you think?”

Tony held the bouquet up for Bucky to see and the man gazed at the colorful spray of flowers, the warm oranges and yellows of the roses offset by the deeper reds of the ranunculus and scabiosa. He’d added a few white blooms as well, which helped the calla lilies blend better, with the empty spaces filled in nicely with the snapdragons. It was one of Tony’s favorite color combinations, the reds and the yellows, the deep pinks in direct contrast with the whites. 

Bucky’ eyes kept darting between the bouquet Tony held and Tony himself, his eyes skittering back to the flowers whenever their gazes met for too long.

“They’re perfect,” Bucky finally said. “How much?”

“For you?” Tony said, smile wide. “Fifty even.”

Bucky handed over the money in cash and gently took the bouquet as Tony ran the sale through his system. Out of the corner of his eye, Tony could see as Bucky twisted the flowers this way and that, looking at all of the fresh blossoms as if he were fascinated, smile creeping slowly across his face. Tony felt his heart warm at the sight. He loved it when he could help people become closer with those they loved through his flowers.

“Well, I hope your fella likes them,” Tony said once he’d finished. Bucky snapped out of his flower inspection mode and gave Tony a nod. “You’ll have to tell me how it goes.”

Bucky was silent for a long moment and Tony wondered if he’d overstepped. 

“Okay,” Bucky said, smiled, and then turned around.

He didn’t move though, just stood there with his back to Tony and took two deep breaths. Tony was about to ask Bucky if he was alright when Bucky suddenly turned back around, cheeks red.

“Hi, Tony,” Bucky said, and Tony glanced around to see if there was another Tony around that Bucky could possibly be talking to. 

There was not. He turned back to Bucky.

“Hi, Bucky,” Tony said cautiously.

“I, uh,” Bucky started, then cleared his throat. “I got these for you, I hope you like them.”

And then he held the flowers out for Tony to take. 

Tony blinked.

“You-” Tony began, still confused. He reached out on autopilot and took the blooms, settling them in his arms as he looked to Bucky for some sort of explanation. “What?”

“I got them for you,” Bucky repeated. “I went to the best flower place in town and the guy really knows his stuff. The roses are for happiness and love, and- Or wait, was that the carnations? The ranan...ranin...ranun…”

“Ranunculus,” Tony said dazedly.

“Yes, that one,” Bucky said. “That one is because you’re charming. And the snapdragons are because I like you a lot, and the lilies are for passion.”

Bucky finished with a little bit of a flourish, fist clenched as he whispered, “Passion!” 

Tony was silent for a long, long moment before what was happening truly registered in his head. He looked down at his bouquet of flowers, then back up at Bucky.

“Did you just- What is happening here?”

“I like you,” Bucky said nervously. 

“You just bought flowers _ from _ me,” Tony said slowly. “To give _ to _ me.”

“Because I like you,” Bucky affirmed.

“I don’t know if that’s the cheesiest thing I’ve ever seen or the sweetest,” Tony mumbled.

“Did it work?” Bucky asked cautiously. “I’m definitely okay with being cheesy if it worked.”

Tony looked up, met Bucky’ eyes and felt his heart do that flutter thing again, like there were a million tiny insects in his stomach and they wanted out _ now. _ He let out a breathy laugh, brought the flowers up to his face so he could inhale their rich scent.

“Yeah,” Tony said. “I think it did.”

**Author's Note:**

> This is the bouquet that Tony makes for Bucky: https://urbanstems.com/products/the-miss-manhattan


End file.
